“I guess so, thanks.” I take the same spot as the other day but this time I sit in the middle, hoping he doesn’t try to sit next to me. What am I doing here?

Graham sits across from me and says, “I know this is all new for you, but please don’t be uncomfortable. Dr. Markson has told me all about your situation and I just want to help. I think together we have a really good chance of defeating your anxiety.”

His speech is so sincere and he’s giving me the most empathetic smile. I want to die of humiliation. Covering my face with my hands, I groan. “Oh God, this is so embarrassing.”

“Why?”

“Because you know I’m a defective misfit; and you’re here to help me with something I never share with anyone. Like ever, yet you’re just talking about it like its normal.”

“It’s your normal,” he says.

“Yeah. Whatever.” I cross my arms over my chest and nervously look around the room, anywhere but at him. I notice a small black journal on the coffee table. “What’s that?”

“Those are our instructions and guidelines for the day.” He picks the book up, and says, “Want me to read them?”

My stomach burns from anxiety. I want run from the room and never look back. “I guess we may as well see what this is all about.”

Audrey Exposed by Roxy Queen is a story like none other I have ever read before it it was intriguing from the very first page until the very last. I would rate this book with 3.5 stars and would definitely recommend it to all. Roxy Queen weaves a story of yearning, yearning to over-come the fears that haunt you and keep you from living the life that you truly desire. Audrey, a college senior, close to graduation, has intimacy issues in her relationships. I know what you may be thinking, who doesn't have some type of intimacy issue at one point in their life. It is not her issue with intimacy that is her ultimate fear, it is the actually anxiety that she is over-come with when she is about to have sex with someone. The book opens up with a romantic Valentine's Day date with her boyfriend where Audrey wants nothing more to take their relationship to the next level. Unfortunately when it comes down to the actual act of sex, the anxiety that she feels is so over-whelming it causes a panic attack forcing her to stop before it really ever begins. And that is where Graham comes in.

Graham is in the graduate program for psychology during the day and he is a paid escort by night for the rich and powerful woman of Durham. He believes that it is a win-win situation, giving them what they truly need to feel good about themselves in the confines of their lonely nights while he reaps the benefits achieving a release that he needs as well. That is until he becomes involved in a cutting edge experiment of exposure therapy in regards to having issues with sex.

Audrey is referred to Dr Markson by her friend Reese's doctor to help her overcome her emotional issues when it comes to having sex with her partner. Although she is apprehensive at first, her need to get better so that she can have the relationship she wants to re-kindle with her ex-boyfriend Dylan, she agrees to participate in the exposure therapy with Graham as her guide.

Through directives from Dr. Markson as well as Graham himself, Audrey is very slowly exposed to all aspects of intimacy, working her way to the full penetration of sex. She immediately trusts Graham because of the way that he puts her at ease in each situation that makes her uncomfortable, helping her to conquer her fears and pre-conceptions that have forced her from being intimate with men. With each encounter with Graham, the reader is able to see the change in Audrey, how she becomes more sure of herself, more confident, more a willing participant in her sexual life. After weeks of working with Graham she begins to lean on him as more of a friend and potential lover and less of a mediator in her therapy. Once she fully conquers it all and has sex for the first time with Graham, she is proud of the strides that she has made and is determined that she can have a better relationship with Dylan. After making love with Graham a few more times, even after the conclusion of the experiment, she knows that she is ready to be with Dylan and wishes that the circumstances between her and Graham would be different so that they could still be friends. Graham is struggling with having to let Audrey go, knowing that she will be sleeping with another man very soon.

Does Graham have feelings for Audrey? Does Audrey have feelings for Graham? Will they be able to make a relationship work despite all of the baggage that each of them carries? You will definitely have to read to find out!

Roxy lives in the south with her family, two dogs and a semi-feral cat. Her office window looks over a tree-fort and she secretly obsess over the college-aged neighbor down the street, zombies and how much glitter is too much (answer: there's no such thing). All of her books are rooted in a glimmer of reality with a heap of fiction.

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